Heidi called the police before she went to work the next morning. "It happened again," she told the same officer she'd talked to the day before. "He...he called again."
"OK, ma'am," the officer said. "Look, here's what you do. Call the phone company and ask them to put a trap on your line. It will probably cost you a few bucks, but it will allow us to catch this guy."
"A...a trap?" Heidi asked.
"Yeah, if the guy calls you again, they have a device that traps his phone number and stores it," the officer explained. "We'll get the number from them and trace the call. Like I said, I think it costs a little bit, but it does work."
"Thank you," Heidi said. She immediately called the phone company and found out what she needed to know. Then she dressed and headed for school.
Milt Bingham, looking a bit tired, saw Heidi come in and left his office to greet her. "How are you this morning, Heidi?" he asked.
"It happened again," Heidi told him. "That animal called me again."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Milt said. "What are you going to do?"
"I reported it to the police again," she said. "They told me what I should do to try and catch the person who's doing this."
"Really?" Milt said. "Are they going to put a tap on your phone?"
"Ah..." Heidi paused. "No, they're not doing that. They...they asked me to keep them posted if the person calls again," she said, not quite sure why she hadn't told him the whole truth. Milt, of all people, was someone she could trust. That the person calling her had her distrusting even her closest friends upset her even more.
"I'm really sorry this is happening, Heidi," Milt said, "are you sure there's nothing I can do to help. I mean, if you thought it would help, you could stay at my place..."
"Thank you for offering, Milt, but no," Heidi said. "I'm not going to let this animal run me out of my own home. I'll be fine. The police tell me people who make obscene phone calls seldom go beyond that."
"All right, if you're sure," Milt said. "But please, if there's anything I can do..."
"Thanks, Milt," Heidi said. "It is sweet of you to offer." She headed down the hall to her office.
Bob Samuelson had taken the day off because the police department's crime prevention specialist was coming to advise him on ways to make their home more secure. Joanna had left that morning to attend a two-day conference, so Bob home alone.
The doorbell rang. Bob answered it and found a surprisingly attractive young woman standing there. She was carrying a large leather purse and had on a short, loose long-sleeved black dress with coral, gold, and blue flowers all over it. The dress had a low-cut neckline, and several buttons at the neck were open, displaying an expanse of smooth-looking flesh. Dark hose clung to extremely nice legs, and a mass of wavy reddish-brown hair hung to down one side of her face and cascaded over her shoulder.
"Mr. Samuelson?" she said. "I'm Sergeant Dillon."
"You are?" Bob said. He was startled to discover that this attractive woman was a police officer. He found her attractive and immediately began trying to figure out how to seduce her. But, he told himself, if she was a police officer, maybe seduction was out.
"Been one for seven years now," she said, smiling. "I understand you'd like a home security evaluation."
"Ah...yes, we would," Bob said. "I...we...someone got into my garage and vandalized my car a few days ago."
"I know," the policewoman said. "I read the report. Your tires were flattened and some things were spray-painted on your car."
"Yes, that's it," Bob said. Then he realized they were still standing in the doorway. "Please, come in, sergeant. I don't know what's the matter with me. I'm not being very polite."
"Thank you," the officer said. She moved by Bob, who held the door for her. She had seen the way the man was looking at her and was pretty sure what he was thinking. She was amused and a bit intrigued. Actually, the guy was kind of good-looking.
"Not bad!" Bob thought as her perfume wafted up and filled his nose.
An hour later, they were sitting at his dining room table. Bob was taking notes while Sergeant Dillon explained the things she felt he should do to make his home more secure.
"I'll send you a written report, which will cover all of my recommendations," Sergeant Dillon said. "But it usually takes my secretary a couple of days to get them typed. He's pretty backed up, most of the time. In the meantime, you can get started on a lot of this before you get the report. A lot of the changes won't cost anything, or not very much."
"Sergeant..." Bob paused. "What is your first name, anyhow?"
She smiled at him. "It's Amanda," she said.
"Amanda Dillon?" he said, smiling. "Did your parents have a sense of humor?"
